Page 10 - Jason Settlemoir News Today

Tioga Downs announced today (Thursday, June 2) a reduction in its 2022 live harness racing calendar due to a shortage of overnight horses.

After defeating two past Dan Patch Award winners to capture a division of last week’s first leg of the Miss Versatility Series, the next task for Herculisa is equally daunting.

After sitting an ideal pocket trip throughout the mile, Let It Ride N rolled by American History in deep stretch in the $34,500 featured Preferred Handicap for pacers, and in the process, established a season’s-fastest mile at the "Big M" of 1:48.3 on Saturday (March 5).

The 2021 Horse of the Year will be announced Sunday night (Feb. 20) at the annual U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Dan Patch Awards dinner.

In response to customer and horsepersons' frustration with the length of the race cards resulting from the post time "drag", The Meadowlands conducted a six-week experiment with reduced time between races and an earlier end to the races.

The Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey (SBOANJ) and The Meadowlands announced new three-year-old races for trotters sponsored by the SBOANJ that will serve as a lead in to the 2022 New Jersey Sires Stakes (NJSS).

The New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) annual year-end championships will not require lights this season, as Tioga Downs will host the event with a special 1:00 p.m. post time (pending regulatory approval) on September 10, turning the “Night of Champions” into the “Day of Champions!”

While the worldwide pandemic continued its grip on society over the last 12 months, The Meadowlands managed to make the best of 2021 and will conclude the year Friday (Dec. 31) night with a 14-race program that features not one, but two carryovers sure to entice The Big M faithful, who will have gone 12 days without action at the mile oval when the first race gets underway at 6:20 p.m.

Due to rising COVID-19 cases, the Meadowlands Racetrack and FanDuel Sportsbook will require all staff and guests, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks while inside the grandstand beginning Tuesday, Dec. 28.

It was June of last year when The Meadowlands reopened after a three-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.